Who’s Got the Edge: 7A Region 3

As the season is quickly approaching, it is becoming even more interesting to predict, and look into different teams, and regions across the state. Historically, Region 3 in 7A football has had its fair share of talent, and competition, but this year will be one of the more interesting seasons. Not only is McEachern joining the region, but the region is seeing the exit of teams such as Walton, and North Cobb, which will shake things up tremendously. Regardless, the season will have to finish with a winner, and below, you will see some of our notes on who we believe has the edge. McEachern While it may be a bit competitive, we do believe that McEachern will ultimately fall to Marietta this upcoming season, and come in second in the region. Marietta had an up and down year last season, but due to the returning talent on their roster, the caliber of their returning players, and the way they would match up against McEachern, we think they have a good chance of coming away with a regional title, and a shot at the playoffs. Nevertheless, a second place finish for McEachern would not be terrible, as they would still have a chance at the playoffs, especially if they match up well with the other teams in their region. Players such as [player_tooltip player_id='34053' first='Jace' last='Ward'], Lance Watkins, and Peja Womack will all be in place to make a good return for their team, and will more than likely be huge reasons for any future success that they may have. Marietta When it is all said and done, we love the returning pieces that Marietta has, and the fact that they made it to the playoffs last season. While the newly added McEachern will give them a run for their money, we do not feel that it will be too much for them to handle. They have solid players at plenty of the major, and key positions on both sides of the ball, and the confidence that plenty of their starters will have in their system going into this next season will also help. Players such as Jake Wrap, Arik Gilbert, Daniel Martin, [player_tooltip player_id='34050' first='Jace' last='Arnold'], [player_tooltip player_id='325521' first='Chase' last='McCravy'], and [player_tooltip player_id='326559' first='Christian' last='Mathis'] are all expected to have a great season this year, and it will be great to see what they make of it. Harrison Last season, Harrison did not have the best season by any means. By the end of the year, they not only had a 4-7 record, but they finished with a 2-3 record in their region. To add to this, Harrison also did not deliver on plenty of the fans' expectations talent-wise, and they finished the year in 4th place in their region. Going into this upcoming season, the Hoyas will not be returning some of their key players due to graduation, and they face a huge uphill battle against a more competitive region, especially now that North Cobb is not in their region. Expect it to be a huge fight for Harrison to place top 3 in their region this year. Hillgrove Unfortunately, we feel that Hillgrove will not have a strong season this upcoming year, just like it has been for them in previous years. We expect them to finish with a 2-8, or 3-7 record due to the way they match up with other regional teams, and their lack of depth, and quality coaching compared to their competition. Even though their best years are ahead of them, we don't see them beating anyone else in the region other than North Paulding, or Harrison. North Paulding Even though North Paulding has plenty of growth ahead of them, we do not feel that they are equipped talent wise, and coaching wise to make a run at winning the region. Last season, they finished the year 1-4 in their region alone, and had a final record of 4-6. There is plenty of room for improvement on their end, and we have no doubt that their top returning players will ensure this, but we do not feel it will be enough to make it past 5th or 4th place in the region.

As the season is quickly approaching, it is becoming even more interesting to predict, and look into different teams, and regions across the state. Historically, Region 3 in 7A football has had its fair share of talent, and competition, but this year will be one of the more interesting seasons. Not only is McEachern joining the region, but the region is seeing the exit of teams such as Walton, and North Cobb, which will shake things up tremendously. Regardless, the season will have to finish with a winner, and below, you will see some of our notes on who we believe has the edge.
McEachern
While it may be a bit competitive, we do believe that McEachern will ultimately fall to Marietta this upcoming season, and come in second in the region. Marietta had an up and down year last season, but due to the returning talent on their roster, the caliber of their returning players, and the way they would match up against McEachern, we think they have a good chance of coming away with a regional title, and a shot at the playoffs. Nevertheless, a second place finish for McEachern would not be terrible, as they would still have a chance at the playoffs, especially if they match up well with the other teams in their region. Players such as Jace Ward Jace Ward 6'3" | 220 lbs | LB McEachern | 2023 State GA , Lance Watkins, and Peja Womack will all be in place to make a good return for their team, and will more than likely be huge reasons for any future success that they may have.
Marietta
When it is all said and done, we love the returning pieces that Marietta has, and the fact that they made it to the playoffs last season. While the newly added McEachern will give them a run for their money, we do not feel that it will be too much for them to handle. They have solid players at plenty of the major, and key positions on both sides of the ball, and the confidence that plenty of their starters will have in their system going into this next season will also help. Players such as Jake Wrap, Arik Gilbert, Daniel Martin, Jace Arnold Jace Arnold 5'6" | 121 lbs | DB Marietta | 2023 State GA , Chase McCravy Chase McCravy 6'0" | 180 lbs | QB Hillgrove | 2024 State GA , and Christian Mathis Christian Mathis 5'9" | 170 lbs | WR Marietta | 2023 State GA are all expected to have a great season this year, and it will be great to see what they make of it.
Harrison
Last season, Harrison did not have the best season by any means. By the end of the year, they not only had a 4-7 record, but they finished with a 2-3 record in their region. To add to this, Harrison also did not deliver on plenty of the fans' expectations talent-wise, and they finished the year in 4th place in their region. Going into this upcoming season, the Hoyas will not be returning some of their key players due to graduation, and they face a huge uphill battle against a more competitive region, especially now that North Cobb is not in their region. Expect it to be a huge fight for Harrison to place top 3 in their region this year.
Hillgrove
Unfortunately, we feel that Hillgrove will not have a strong season this upcoming year, just like it has been for them in previous years. We expect them to finish with a 2-8, or 3-7 record due to the way they match up with other regional teams, and their lack of depth, and quality coaching compared to their competition. Even though their best years are ahead of them, we don't see them beating anyone else in the region other than North Paulding, or Harrison.
North Paulding
Even though North Paulding has plenty of growth ahead of them, we do not feel that they are equipped talent wise, and coaching wise to make a run at winning the region. Last season, they finished the year 1-4 in their region alone, and had a final record of 4-6. There is plenty of room for improvement on their end, and we have no doubt that their top returning players will ensure this, but we do not feel it will be enough to make it past 5th or 4th place in the region.